Regarded food scientist Harold McGee says applying an ice pack to your turkey breast before roasting makes all the difference between a dry, overcooked breast and a moist, juicy slice of heaven. Chef Justin Wangler of the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center put the advice to the test, roasting two turkeys side-by-side. The results: The McGee turkey breast was indeed moister.

One common complaint I hear around Thanksgiving is that, as much as we all love mom's cooking, the white meat always seems to be overcooked and dry. You see, the dark meat on the bird comes up to temperature significantly slower than the breast meat, so by the time the turkey is "ready" a large part of it is actually overcooked. By using an ice pack to lower the temperature of the turkey breast, theoretically, you'll even out the cooking process and end up with perfectly cooked dark and light meat.

While both birds in the experiment turned out well, Wangler notes a marked difference in favor of the turkey cooked using the McGee method. We've mentioned McGee's food science bible On Food and Cookingbefore, but we didn't feature this simple but potentially bird-changing trick.